In this section

THIRSK

The ecclesiastical parish of Thirsk comprised in
1831 the townships of Carlton Islebeck or Carlton
Miniott and Sand Hutton (fn. 1) and the chapelry of
Sowerby, which are now separate ecclesiastical
parishes. The township of Carlton Miniott is
partly within the liberty of St. Peter York. The
area of the entire parish is 8,772 acres, of which
4, 133 acres are arable, 2,976 acres pasture and 185
acres woods and plantations. (fn. 2) The soil of this district
is light gravel or sand on a subsoil chiefly of
Keuper Marls; lower lias and alluvium also occur.
The elevation is in few places more than 100 ft. above
ordnance datum. The inhabitants of Sand Hutton
and Carlton Miniott are largely engaged in agriculture; in the latter township there are also brick and
tile-works. The chief crops are barley, wheat, oats,
grass, clover and turnips.

The main line of the North Eastern railway and
the Leeds and Thirsk section unite at Thirsk junction,
which is 1 mile west of that town. A small branch line
runs into the town, where there is also a goods station.
In 1798 an Act was obtained for inclosing the open
'Sowerby Field,' a stinted pasture called 'The Ox
Moor' and the 'South Moor,' and other waste
grounds within the township of Sowerby. (fn. 3) The open
and arable fields in the township of Sand Hutton
were inclosed under an award made in 1841.

The town of Thirsk lies between two important
mediaeval highways which here run along the opposite
banks of the Cod Beck. On the east is 'the Street'
from York to the port of Yarm, on the west is the
road from Topcliffe to Northallerton and Scotland.
Between these roads, and on either side of the river,
is built the town, Old Thirsk being on the east bank
and New Thirsk on the west. In Old Thirsk the
houses stand about Long Street, (fn. 4) as this portion of the
York and Yarm road is called, and about St. James's
Green, a large space between it and the beck which
is here crossed by a bridge in Millgate. St. James's
Green is probably 'the Oldemerkat sted' mentioned
in 1398–9, (fn. 5) and the cattle market was still held here
in 1859. (fn. 6) The green takes its name from a chapel
of St. James, which was standing at least as early as
1145. (fn. 7) Richard son of John de Cardoyl, thief, took
sanctuary in it in 1267–8, (fn. 8) and it seems to have been
standing at the Dissolution, (fn. 9) but its site is not known.

The town is almost entirely built of brick and
now presents few features of antiquity. Grouped
round the square are a number of 18th-century inns,
of which the 'Three Tuns,' belonging to the Bell
family, is a large three-storied building with a Georgian
front. The rear portions, however, may date from
the close of the 17th century, and from the centre
of the hall rises a handsome staircase with twisted
balusters. The Fleece Hotel, on the south side of
the square, is an early 18th-century building, and at
the back of the Crown Hotel, near it, is a picturesque
yard with a good lead rain-water head, bearing the
initials [C WI] and the date 1682. The Wesleyan chapel
on the green was built in 1816 and replaced that
built in 1764–6 and criticized by John Wesley, (fn. 10) who
visited Thirsk several times and preached in the
market-place in 1763. (fn. 11) On the green once stood a
notable old elm beneath which tradition asserted that
the Earl of Northumberland was murdered in 1489. (fn. 12)
Beneath it the election of members of Parliament
was made at a later date. The tree was in decay
when it was burnt down in the Fifth of November
celebration of 1818. (fn. 13)

South of St. James's Green is Ingramgate, (fn. 14) which
leads from Long Street across a stone bridge (fn. 15) and up
Finkle Street to the market-place in New Thirsk.
This market-place contains no burgages. It appears
to have been once oblong in shape with its western
side abutting on the east side of the castle of the
Mowbrays; now, however, houses occupy part of
the castle site and extend beyond it into the marketplace, (fn. 16) thus destroying its symmetry on this side.
In the middle stood the market-cross, which was
moved about 1860 to the grounds of Thirsk Hall.
Near it was once the Tollbooth, in which the
manorial courts were held; it was also used as a
public hall and was the first meeting-place of the
Independents in Thirsk. (fn. 17) It was burnt down in
1834 while occupied by a travelling showman. (fn. 18)
Close by was the bull-ring, the site of which is
still marked by a circle in the pavement, though
the ring itself had been taken up in about 1839. (fn. 19)
Here, as at Northallerton, the centre of the space
was occupied by butchers' shambles, but these were
removed in 1857. (fn. 20)

South of the market-place is Chapel Street, once
called the Back Lane. It takes its name from the
meeting-house built here by the Independents in
1804 and replaced by the present chapel in Finkle
Street in 1850. The Lambert Memorial Hospital
in this street was built and endowed by Mrs. Lambert
in 1890. Near it is the Thirsk Institute, built in
1848–9 by Sir W. P. Payne-Gallwey, bart., as the
Mechanics' Institute. West of them is the courthouse built in 1885 and near it is the station on the
Thirsk branch of the North Eastern railway.

From the station Castlegate leads east to the
market-place, near which it is joined by the road
from Topcliffe. In Castlegate is the Primitive
Methodist chapel built in 1851 to replace an older
building. Here, too, is the Roman Catholic church
of All Saints, built in 1867; the Roman Catholic
elementary schools are also here.

The castle lay on the north side of Castlegate.
The moat can still be traced on its western side and
the whole inclosure has been computed at 4 acres.
Very little is known of the history of the castle, which
commanded the road from York to the north. It
was certainly built before 1130–1 (fn. 21) and was held
against Henry II by Roger de Mowbray in the revolt
of 1173. In the following year it was surrendered
to Henry, who in 1176 caused it to be destroyed. (fn. 22)
At the beginning of the 13th century the Mowbrays
appear to have had here a manor-house, (fn. 23) whence
John de Mowbray wrote on one occasion to
Edward I. (fn. 24) This house and its dovecotes were
destroyed by the Scots in 1322 (fn. 25) and apparently
never rebuilt. In 1376 the castle garth was a garden, (fn. 26)
though laid down to grass by 1398–9. (fn. 27) The name
Castle Yard was in 1842 still given (fn. 28) to a field west
of the moat, while 'the Park' lay west of the present
hall.

Kirkgate, which starts from the north-west corner
of the market-place, forms the first part of the high
road to Northallerton. It must have been along this
road that the royal army passed so often. Henry III
was in Thirsk in 1227, (fn. 29) Edward I in 1291, and in
1296, when he stayed here for three days. (fn. 30) He was
here again in 1301, when he passed a night here, in
1304 and in 1306. (fn. 31) Edward II passed through in
1310 and was here in 1322 after the rebellion of
Thomas of Lancaster. (fn. 32) It must have been along this
road, too, that the Scots advanced when they sacked
Thirsk (fn. 33) on their way to Northallerton (q.v.) and
Topcliffe (q.v.). In Kirkgate lies the Friends'
meeting-house built in or about 1790 and the
successor of a building in which Fox himself is said to
have preached. In this same street was the Chantry
House of St. Anne; it seems to have been granted
in 1608 to George Johnson and John Grunesdiche
in fee. (fn. 34) It came into the possession of the family
of Bell, and in 1667 was conveyed by Robert Bell
and John Pybus to Viscount Fauconberg, Lord
Lieutenant of the North Riding, in trust for the
inhabitants of the Riding as a house of correction. (fn. 35)
The property was sold by the Riding in May 1789
to Metcalf Graham Steell and was purchased from
him in 1790 by Ralph Bell; at the present
time the site is occupied by two dwelling-houses. (fn. 36)
Beyond the houses of the town lies the present
hall, the residence of Mr. Reginald Bell. It is a
large Georgian building with a centre block of three
stories and side wings of two. It is built of red
brick and stone, the rain-water heads being ornamented with martlets and bells and bearing the date
1771 R. B. A. The dining room is an excellent
specimen of the Adam style with ceiling, walls and
chimney-piece of the same type. The library is
richly panelled in an earlier style and the staircase
has curious twisted balusters. In the grounds is preserved the old market-cross, a plain base and truncated shaft of stone, formerly capped by a four-faced
sundial. Near by is a large fragment of Gothic
carving, possibly the base of a pinnacle, brought from
Byland Abbey.

Opposite the Hall and running down to the water
is a field called the Marriage (Marish). The
manorial prison once stood in a corner to the west
of the church tower; it was thus away from the
town, and in the 13th century there were frequent
complaints of the escape of prisoners after bribing the
bailiff. (fn. 37)

Just north of the Hall is the parish church of
St. Mary the Virgin; beyond it is the settlement of
Norby built along the Northallerton road. Much of
the land here belonged to Newburgh Priory and the
old parsonage was in this quarter. (fn. 38) The mill of
Norby with 12 oxgangs of land was granted by
William de Mowbray to Philip son of John in the
beginning of the 13th century. (fn. 39) The mill was probably of considerable antiquity, for the island formed
by the millrace and Cod Beck was granted by Roger
de Mowbray to Newburgh Priory in 1145, and had
previously been held by Richard the Priest. (fn. 40)

There are remains of a moat here, and the name
Tenter Croft now given to the inclosure suggests that
it was used later as the drying-ground of a dyer.

In 1768 a scheme was propounded for making the
Cod Beck navigable from its junction with the Swale
to Thirsk, and an Act of Parliament was obtained for
this purpose. A wharf was made and various other
works were carried out, but the scheme failed, though
its memory is recalled by the Lock Bridge, which
stands where the first and only lock was made. (fn. 41)

The common arable fields of Thirsk lay to the
north, east and west of the town, and were the
North and South Douber (Doutheburghe, xiii cent.), (fn. 42)
the Near and Far Carlton Butts, Wetlands beyond
Norby, the Near and Far West Fields, Underwood,
Stoneybrough (Steinhouberg, xiii cent.; Stannybarghe, Stanybarge, xvii cent.), (fn. 43) and Bown Crofts. (fn. 44)
Inclosure Acts were obtained in 1800, 1820 (fn. 45) and
1836, but the award was not made until 1845. (fn. 46)

On the road to Northallerton is the Spa House.
Lord Harley writing in 1723 described how he
'half a mile from the town passed by the Spa,
which is covered by a thatched house, built by the
Corporation, who have placed a poor old woman
who makes what little profit she can from those who
resort thither. It is said to have wrought many
cures on lame and ricketty people.' (fn. 47) The Spa was
provided with three baths, and was 'much frequented'
at the beginning of the 19th century, though drained
by 1859. (fn. 48)

Carlton Miniott is a straggling hamlet 2 miles
to the west of Thirsk. The first house on that side
is a substantial Georgian structure with farm buildings and a brick pigeon-house. The Grange is
modern. There is a Wesleyan chapel close to the
church of St. Lawrence, which is in the middle of
the village.

Sand Hutton village is built round a green, at the
east end of which stands St. Mary's Church, and at
the west is a Wesleyan chapel, erected in 1815. The
post office is an ancient cottage of stone with a
thatched roof. The Swale forms the western
boundary of the parish. Sand Hutton Cross marks
the point where the parishes of Thirsk, Carlton
Miniott and Sand Hutton unite.

Sowerby is a large village practically joining the
southern end of Thirsk. Broad greens line the main
street, and the majority of the houses date from the
18th century. The first house south of the church,
called the Manor House, is of that date, and behind
it are extensive farm buildings with a square pigeonhouse of brick having a pyramidal tiled roof, and
dating from the 17th century. St. Oswald's Church
and the vicarage are at the north end. There is also
a Wesleyan chapel. The Saxty Way, a disused road,
can be traced in the fields to the north of Sowerby.
West of the village is Pudding Pie Hill, a tumulus
which was excavated in 1855. Paradise Beck rises
in a small plantation called Spring Wood, and flows
through Sowerby Park in the south-east corner of the
parish.

Mention of the park of Sowerby occurs in documents
of the 16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 49)

Borough

Nothing is known of the origin of
the borough of Thirsk, though the
fact that Henry II spoke of it as one
of his demesne boroughs (fn. 50) may point to its rise
during the time that the manor was in the hands of
the Crown after the battle of Tenchebrai. (fn. 51) It was,
however, throughout its known history a mesne
borough held under the lords of the manor (q.v.).

The borough was certainly in existence in 1145, (fn. 52)
and seems to have been on the east bank of the Cod
Beck, forming what was later known as Old Thirsk. (fn. 53)
The settlement on the opposite bank probably here
as at Richmond grew up round the bailey of the
castle; it formed the vill mentioned in 1145, (fn. 54) and
was the manorial quarter as distinguished from the
borough.

Few records of the borough are extant, and court
rolls of the 17th century (fn. 55) are the chief authority for
its constitution. The amount of the farm is not
known, (fn. 56) but in 1398–9 the bailiff of the borough
paid 29s. 3¼d. as the rent of free tenements. (fn. 57) At
the beginning of the 19th century there were 52
burgage tenements, 'of which 49 belonged to the
Franklands of Thirkleby.' (fn. 58)

In 1821 and 1859 the borough bailiff was chosen
by the burgage holders and was sworn in by the
lord's steward in the lord's court, (fn. 59) this probably
following ancient procedure.

The bailiff represented in 1630 that his predecessors had from of old received the amerciaments
of the estreats in his year, and had 'the perquisites of
the court for amerciaments in the town fields and
commons except the amerciaments for non-appearance
and for neglect of bonds and services.' (fn. 60) He held
the courts of the borough, which in 1398–9 sat
seventeen times (fn. 61); in 1623 fifteen courts were held. (fn. 62)
In the 17th century the court had jurisdiction over
small cases of debt, and in 1623 as many as 300 such
were decided. This class of suit rapidly declined
in the 18th century, the last case being heard in
1791. (fn. 63)

In the 17th century the surviving officials were
two constables for the borough and vill, two leathersearchers and sealers, four market searchers, four ale
tasters, two field graves, one or sometimes two pinders,
and four afferators. (fn. 64) The chief liberties enjoyed by
the burgesses in early times were those of buying and
selling within and without the market-place, and of
freedom from toll and stallage. (fn. 65) These privileges
were extended in 1145 by Roger de Mowbray to
such men of Newburgh Priory as dealt within the
borough area. (fn. 66) To these privileges were added
later the parliamentary franchise, which, however,
here as elsewhere, had a deterrent effect on the
development of the borough owing to the accumulation
of burgages in one ownership. By 1859, though the
bailiff was still elected, (fn. 67) all corporate government in
Thirsk had disappeared. In the latter part of the
19th century the management of affairs was in the
hands of a rural sanitary authority, but under the
Local Government Act it was transferred to a rural
district council.

The borough of Thirsk sent two representatives to
the Parliament of 1295, but no further return was
made until the last Parliament of Edward VI.
Henceforward it sent two members to Parliament (fn. 68)
until the passing of the Reform Act (fn. 69) in 1832, when
the representation was reduced to one, and the
franchise extended from the owners of burgages, who
then numbered fifty of whom six only were resident
in the borough, (fn. 70) to include the inhabitants of the
townships of Thirsk, Carlton Miniott, Sand Hutton,
Bagby and South Kilvington. In 1885 Thirsk
ceased to be a parliamentary borough. (fn. 71)

The market at Thirsk is prescriptive and certainly
dates from before 1145. (fn. 72) It was held in 1293 as
now on Monday. (fn. 73) The lord took the tolls, which
have remained a manorial possession. In 1870
Freeman's auction mart was established for the sale of
cattle, sheep and pigs. This is held on alternate
Mondays with the Thirsk Farmers' Auction Mart
established in 1907 at Sowerby. (fn. 74) On 17 November 1909 a perpetual injunction of the Court of
Chancery was obtained by the lord of the manor
restraining the owners of the latter mart from carrying on their business without payment of tolls. (fn. 75)

In 1293 a prescriptive fair was held on the vigil,
feast and morrow of St. Felix (fn. 76) (14 January); the
day was, perhaps, changed, for in 1327 fairs were
held on the Feasts of St. James (25 July) and St.
Luke (18 October). (fn. 77) Elizabeth widow of John
Mowbray held dower in the tolls of a fair on the
Feast of St. Lawrence (10 August) at her death in
1376. (fn. 78) In 1751 fairs were held on the Feasts of
St. James, St. Andrew (30 November) and St. Luke,
on Shrove Monday, and on the Tuesday after Lady
Day (fn. 79); they seem to be represented, allowing for
the alteration of style in 1752, by the fairs held in
1792 on Shrove Monday; 4, 5 and 6 April; 3,
4 and 5 August; 28 and 29 October, and 14
December. (fn. 80) In 1888 the fair days were Shrove
Monday, 4 April, the last Monday in May,
4 August, 28 October, and the first Tuesday after
11 December. (fn. 81) These fairs have now declined.

There are now important agricultural engineering
works in Thirsk. Tanning and leather-dressing are
carried on, as well as malting, brick-making and ironfounding.

Manors

In 1086 there were two 'manors' and
20 carucates in THIRSK. Eight of
these, which previously had been held
by Orm, belonged to the king; the other 12 carucates
belonged to Hugh son of Baldric and were held by
Tor. (fn. 82) Very little is known of Hugh son of Baldric.
He was succeeded by Robert de Stutevill, (fn. 83) who, however, forfeited his lands by joining Robert Duke of
Normandy in the rebellion against Henry I. He
was taken prisoner at the battle of Tenchebrai in
1106 and his barony was granted to Niel Daubeney, (fn. 84)
the founder of the second house of Mowbray, who
had fought on the king's side and already possessed
considerable estates in the Midlands. (fn. 85) The Yorkshire
lands comprised Thirsk and a large part of the
surrounding country, still known as the Vale of
Mowbray, with the outlying castle of Burton in
Lonsdale; this district was also guarded to the southeast by the castle of Kirkby Malzeard. (fn. 86)

Niel Daubeney is said to have become a monk
before his death. (fn. 87) He was succeeded by his son
Roger known as Mowbray. (fn. 88) During his minority
Roger probably lived chiefly at Thirsk with his mother
Gundreda. (fn. 89) Though a minor, he was present at the
battle of the Standard in 1138, (fn. 90) and three years later
is said to have been taken prisoner at the battle of
Lincoln. (fn. 91) He supported the coalition against
Henry II, and on the failure of the rebellion was
deprived of his castles, of which Thirsk was the last
to fall in 1174. (fn. 92) Roger seems to have been restored
to favour, but Epworth in Axholme subsequently
became the chief place of residence of the Mowbrays.
Probably about this time Robert de Stutevill, the
grandson of Robert who had been dispossessed in
1106, laid claim to the barony of Mowbray, and
Roger de Mowbray was obliged to compromise by
giving him Kirkby Moorside for the service of ten
knights' fees. (fn. 93)

Roger de Mowbray founded the abbey of Byland
in 1143 (fn. 94) and the priory of Newburgh in 1145 (fn. 95); he
went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in about
1186, was taken prisoner by the Pagans, and died
soon after his ransom in about 1188. (fn. 96) His son
Niel succeeded him, but died about 1192 on his
way to the Holy Land. He was the father of William,
who had livery of his lands in 1193 or 1194, (fn. 97) and
was among the barons who swore fealty to King John
in 1199. (fn. 98) In the following year, when William de
Stutevill renewed his claim to the lands which had
belonged to his great-grandfather, William de Mowbray
was successful in defending the suit, but granted to
William de Stutevill nine knights' fees and 12 librates
of land in return for the renunciation of his claim. (fn. 99)
The barony continued in the possession of the Mowbrays
until the death of the sixteenth Lord Mowbray in
1476.

In 1215 William de Mowbray was prominent in
the baronial party; he was appointed one of the
twenty-five executors and was excommunicated by
Pope Innocent. (fn. 100) In 1217 he was taken prisoner at
the battle of Lincoln, (fn. 101) and his estates were granted to
William Marshal the younger, but he redeemed
them by the surrender of the lordship of Banstead,
Surrey, to Hubert de Burgh shortly before the general
restoration in the same year. (fn. 102) William de Mowbray
was succeeded by his eldest son Niel, who had livery
of his lands in 1224, (fn. 103) but died about four years later
without issue. His heir was his brother Roger, (fn. 104) who
came of age in 1240 or 1241. He served the king
against both the Scotch and the Welsh. At his death
about 1266 he was succeeded by his son Roger
Mowbray, (fn. 105) who came of age in 1278. (fn. 106) In 1282 he
entailed his lordships of Thirsk, Kirkby Malzeard,
Burton-in-Lonsdale, Hovingham, Melton Mowbray,
Epworth and the Isle of Axholme upon his heirs,
with remainder to Henry de Lacy Earl of Lincoln. (fn. 107)
He served against the Welsh, (fn. 108) and was summoned
to Parliament in 1295 and 1296. He died at
Ghent in 1297. (fn. 109)

The wardship and marriage of his son and heir
John Lord Mowbray (born 1286) were granted to
William de Braose of Gower and Bramber, whose
daughter and heir he married. (fn. 110) During his minority
John de Mowbray was distinguished in the Scotch wars
and was granted livery of his lands and knighted before
he came of age. (fn. 111) His downfall began in 1320 with his
quarrel with the king's favourite Hugh le Despenser
the younger, who tried to seize his wife's inheritance
of Gower. (fn. 112) He joined the insurrection of Thomas
Earl of Lancaster and was taken prisoner at the battle
of Boroughbridge and hanged at York in 1322. His
lands were forfeited and his widow Alina and his son
John, then under age, were imprisoned in the Tower.
The lands were granted in the same year to John Earl
of Richmond, (fn. 113) but they again returned to the Crown
on the forfeiture of his possessions. (fn. 114) On the deposition
of Edward II in 1327, however, John de Mowbray
was released and his father's lands restored. (fn. 115) He died
of the Plague at York in 1361 (fn. 116) and was succeeded by
his son John fourth Lord Mowbray, who married
Elizabeth daughter and heir of John Lord Segrave (fn. 117)
by his wife Margaret, daughter and sole heir of the
Duke of Norfolk. John was killed by the Turks on
his way to the Holy Land in 1368, (fn. 118) when his
son and heir John was three years old. On his
mother's death in 1375 (fn. 119) he became Lord Segrave as
well as Lord Mowbray. He was knighted by
Edward III in 1377, and in the same year was at the
coronation of Richard II created Earl of Nottingham.
This earldom, however, became extinct at his death
without issue in 1382. (fn. 120) He was succeeded by his
brother Thomas Lord Mowbray and Segrave, who
was created Earl of Nottingham in 1383. (fn. 121) He
supported the king against the Duke of Gloucester,
and was rewarded by large grants of land and by being
created Duke of Norfolk in 1397. (fn. 122) In the following
year he was banished and considered, though wrongly,
to have been deprived of his honours. (fn. 123) A few
months before his death in 1400, (fn. 124) however, he
apparently succeeded his maternal grandmother the
Duchess and Countess of Norfolk as Earl of Norfolk.
His eldest son Thomas was allowed to assume all his
father's dignities except the dukedom of Norfolk, and
was usually known as Earl Marshal. (fn. 125) He joined the
conspiracy of 1405 and was beheaded at York at the
age of eighteen. (fn. 126) His brother John succeeded him
as Earl Marshal and Earl of Nottingham, the ducal
title being still withheld. He had livery of his lands
and was summoned to Parliament in 1413. (fn. 127) He
took a prominent part in the French wars, and in
1424 his claim to the dukedom of Norfolk was
admitted. At his death in 1432 (fn. 128) his son John was
still under age, but had been knighted by the king in
1426. (fn. 129) His dukedom was confirmed in 1445. (fn. 130) He
died in 1461 and was succeeded by his son John, who
was created Earl of Surrey and Warenne shortly
before his father's death. (fn. 131) In 1475 he was one of the
captains for the invasion of France. He died in the
January of 1475–6, (fn. 132) leaving one daughter Anne, but
no sons, and the dukedom of Norfolk, earldom of
Nottingham and earldom of Surrey and Warenne
consequently became extinct.

Stanley, Earl of Derby. Argent a bend azure with three harts' heads cabossed or thereon.

At the death of Anne, which appears to have taken
place soon after her marriage in 1478 (fn. 133) with Richard
Duke of York, one of the princes murdered in the
Tower, the representatives of her great-grand aunts
Isabel and Margaret, daughters of Thomas Mowbray
first Duke of Norfolk, then became the co-heirs. (fn. 134)
The manor of Thirsk formed part of the share of
Isabel, who married James
Lord Berkeley, and it was inherited by their son William,
afterwards Marquess of Berkeley, who was seised of it at
his death in 1492. (fn. 135) He left
no children, and should have
been succeeded by his brother
Maurice, but he had totally
disinherited him (fn. 136) (it is said
because of his marriage with
the daughter of an alderman
of Bristol), (fn. 137) and by an indenture of 1488 had left the
manor of Thirsk, among others,
to Thomas Stanley Earl of Derby, (fn. 138) whose successors
held it after the death of William Lord de Berkeley
until 1723, (fn. 139) when it was sold
by James Earl of Derby to
Ralph Bell.

Bell of Thirsk. Party cheveronwise azure and sable a cheveron engrailed with plain cotises between three bells argent.

Ralph Bell (fn. 140) represented
Thirsk in Parliament in 1710,
1713 and 1715. He died
without issue in 1735 and
was succeeded by his nephew
Ralph Consett of Brawith,
who under the terms of his
uncle's will assumed the name
of Bell. He died in 1770,
his heir being his son Ralph
Bell. His eldest son John
was followed by his son of the
same name, who was member
of Parliament for Thirsk from
1841 to 1850 and died unmarried in 1851, having
by his will devised his estate to his nephew Frederic
Macbean (the eldest son of his sister Frances
Macbean), who assumed the name of Bell on his
succession to the estate. He died unmarried in 1875,
when the estate descended to Mrs. Frances Macbean
and Jane Sanders as heirs at law of John Bell. Mrs.
Macbean died in 1876 and was succeeded by Mr.
Reginald Smith; Mrs. Sanders died in 1879, and
on the death of her husband Charles Darley Sanders
in 1883 the second moiety also came into Mr. Smith's
possession. (fn. 141) He assumed the surname and arms of
Bell by royal licence in 1877, and is the present
lord of the manor.

The lords of Thirsk enjoyed very full liberties,
including gallows, infangentheof, (fn. 142) pillory, (fn. 143) amendment of the assize of bread and ale and of the assize
of measures. (fn. 144) At the close of the 13th century they
also claimed the return of writs. (fn. 145) They claimed free
chase (fn. 146) before 1296, when Roger de Mowbray
obtained a grant of free warren in Thirsk and
Hovingham. (fn. 147)

In the 13th and 14th centuries the manor of
WOODHILL in Thirsk was held in demesne by
the lords of the vill and followed Thirsk in descent. (fn. 148)
One, however, of its 3 carucates was granted before
1284–5 to Adam de Picton, this being probably
identical with the land called Calfhowe in the
territory of Thirsk under Duvelund, the holding
carrying with it rights of common of pasture in the
park of Duvelund, while Adam also had rent and the
reversion of 5 oxgangs held by Tezanta del Bail for
life. (fn. 149) Adam de Picton died before the summer of
1319, when his heir was his sister Idonia, a woman
of over sixty. (fn. 150) She in 1327 obtained licence to
alienate land in Thirsk to John de Kilvington. (fn. 151)
The conveyance appears to have taken place, for in
1354 William son of John de Kilvington obtained
pardon for the acquisition of the land from John son
of Peter de Kilvington without licence, the fine
being paid by Peter Tempest, who apparently then
purchased Calfhowe. (fn. 152) Peter died in 1387, (fn. 153) and
the land should have passed under settlement to
John son of Sir Richard Tempest, (fn. 154) but it was
taken into the king's hands on the plea that Peter
had no heirs. (fn. 155) It was afterwards granted to
William de Kilvington, yeoman of the king's larder
and probably a kinsman of the former owner.
William, however, made over his right to John de
Ivelyth, also a member of the royal household, to
whom the king granted Calfhowe in 1396. (fn. 156) It
must have again returned to the Crown, for when last
mentioned in 1469 it was the subject of a grant for
life to Henry Lokwode, yeoman of the king's
chamber. (fn. 157) The remainder of the land of John de
Kilvington descended at his death in 1367 to John
his son. (fn. 158) He died in 1390, (fn. 159) leaving a son and heir
Thomas, who in or about 1429 made a settlement of
this land on himself and Margaret his wife and their
issue. (fn. 160) Margaret died in 1458 and was succeeded
by her son Kilvington. (fn. 161) No further mention of
this holding has been found.

The abbey of Newburgh held land in Thirsk
from its foundation by Roger de Mowbray in 1145
until its dissolution. (fn. 162) The prior obtained a charter
from Henry III confirming his right to infangentheof,
toll, theam, soc and sac in Thirsk and other places,
and in 1293 he claimed assize of ale. (fn. 163) It seems to
have been this land which was granted as a 'manor'
to the see of York and was surrendered to the
Crown in 1545. (fn. 164) No further history of this land
has, however, been found. (fn. 165)

Small parcels of land seem to have been held here
by the Priors of Guisborough (fn. 166) and of Pontefract. (fn. 167)

In 1086 CARLTON MINIOTT (Carleton, xi cent.;
Carlton Iselbeck) was a berewick of Bagby. It was
assessed at 3 carucates and belonged to Hugh son of
Baldric. (fn. 168) The king had also 4 carucates here and
at Islebeck. (fn. 169) The overlordship followed the descent
of the manor of Thirsk (fn. 170) (q.v.).

The lords of Carlton Miniott had a court baron,
but the tenants owed suit at the court leet of Thirsk. (fn. 171)

Roger de Carlton held a mesne lordship here, (fn. 172)
which descended to his son William, lord in 1250. (fn. 173)
In 1209 the tenant was William son of an Ivo de
Carlton (fn. 174) who had died before 1207. (fn. 175) In 1209
Roger de Carlton granted to William son of Ivo
5 carucates and 2 oxgangs of land in Carlton. (fn. 176)
William de Carlton held a third part of a fee
there in the reign of Henry. III, (fn. 177) and was succeeded by a son Henry, tenant in 1250. (fn. 178) In
1284–5 Carlton Miniott was associated with Islebeck,
the principal tenants there being John and Henry
de Carlton. At that date 1 carucate of John de
Carlton's land was subinfeudated to Gilbert de Islebeck and half a carucate to Thomas de Clervaux,
under whom it was held by John de Birkby. (fn. 179)
Walter de Carlton, probably son of John de
Carlton, (fn. 180) held one-third of a knight's fee in Carlton
Miniott and Islebeck in 1301. (fn. 181) He was returned
as lord of Carlton Miniott in 1316, (fn. 182) and seems to
have been still in possession in 1322, (fn. 183) but by 1327
he had been succeeded by John Miniott, (fn. 184) who was
possibly the son of a Roger Miniott. (fn. 185) He was
granted free warren in Carlton Miniott in 1333. (fn. 186)
Very little is known of the family of Miniott, who
seem to have given to this Carlton its distinguishing
name. (fn. 187) It appears from the subsequent history that
early in the 15th century Carlton Miniott was divided
and passed, probably through two daughters of a Sir
John Miniott, kt., (fn. 188) into the families of Markenfield
and Pigot. Sir Ninian Markenfield, kt., was seised
of the moiety of the manor of Carlton Miniott at his
death in 1528, and was succeeded by his son
Thomas, (fn. 189) who died seised of it in 1550 and left a
son Thomas, (fn. 190) attainted for his part in the Rebellion
of the North.

Markenfield. Argent a bend sable with three bezants thereon.

Pigot. Sable three picks argent.

The other moiety, called the manor, was held by
Sir Ranulph Pigot, kt., who died in 1503. His heirs
were Margaret, Joan and Elizabeth, the daughters of
his brother Thomas. (fn. 191) Margaret, who married Sir
James Metcalfe, kt., died in 1531 seised of one-third
of the manor which was inherited by her son Christopher. (fn. 192) Elizabeth was wife first of Sir James
Strangways, kt., and afterwards of Sir Charles
Brandon, kt. Her third part was settled on herself
and Sir Charles and her issue, with contingent remainder to the right heirs of Sir Charles, who died
childless in 1551. (fn. 193) Joan Pigot married firstly Sir
Giles Hussey, (fn. 194) and secondly Thomas Folkingham. (fn. 195)
Joan and Thomas Folkingham and Thomas Hussey,
the son and heir of Joan, were parties to a fine as
to the manor of Carlton Miniott in 1563, (fn. 196) the
full moiety of which may have come into their
hands by this date. Shortly after this Thomas
Hussey and Thomas Markenfield were jointly seised
of the manor of Carlton Miniott, but both were
attainted, (fn. 197) and Thomas Hussey's property in Carlton
Miniott was granted in 1574 to George Lamplugh, (fn. 198)
who died seised of it in 1588 and was succeeded by
his son Edward. (fn. 199) Thomas Markenfield's moiety
evidently passed to John Clough. (fn. 200) George Lamplugh was party to a conveyance of the manor of
Carlton Miniott in 1605, (fn. 201) perhaps to Edward
Howes. Howes may have been a trustee, for John
Clough apparently acquired the whole manor, (fn. 202) which
he conveyed to his son John; John was seised of it
at his death in 1623. (fn. 203) Both father and son had
purchased land from many tenants in Carlton Miniott
and Sand Hutton, including 71 acres in Sand Hutton
which had belonged to Sir George Lamplugh, kt., and
Thomas Lamplugh and land from the Metcalfes.
The heir of the younger John Clough was his son
George, who was a minor at his father's death and
obtained livery of the manor of Carlton Miniott
in 1631. (fn. 204) The manor afterwards came into the
possession of the family of Bell, and has since followed
the descent of Thirsk Manor.

Of the many entries under the name of 'Hotune'
in Domesday Book those (fn. 205) which possibly refer to
SAND HUTTON (Hotune, xi cent.; Hoton, xiii
cent.; Sandhoton, xiv cent.) show that there were
here 6 carucates soke of the royal manor of Easingwold. The overlordship, like that of Carlton Miniott
(q.v.), soon after this came into the hands of the
Mowbrays. It does not seem to have been a manor,
although it was occasionally so called in the 16th and
17th centuries. At an earlier period land here seems
to have been appurtenant to the manor of Carlton
Miniott.

In the 13th century Roger de Argentein and
William de Carlton were tenants in Sand Hutton.
The latter married Elizabeth daughter of Roger de
Argentein, when the two holdings may have been
united. (fn. 206) In 1301, as probably in 1284–5, 6 carucates in Sand Hutton were held of Roger de Mowbray by William le Gra for half a knight's fee, (fn. 207)
and in 1316 Walter de Carlton was returned as lord
of Sand Hutton, (fn. 208) which followed the descent of
Carlton Miniott until the early part of the 17th
century. In 1619 Thomas, Lamplugh made a conveyance of half the 'manor' of Sand Hutton, (fn. 209) which
seems to have remained in his family a few years
longer than the Lamplugh half of Carlton Miniott
Manor. Thomas Lamplugh and others quitclaimed
Sand Hutton to George Clough and his heirs in
1626. (fn. 210) In 1657 it was conveyed by George Clough,
senior, and other members of the family to Richard
Ward. (fn. 211) Mr. Reginald Bell of Thirsk is the present
owner.

In 1333 John Miniott was granted free warren in
Sand Hutton. (fn. 212) The abbey of Fountains obtained
grants of land in Sand Hutton from Roger de
Argentein and William de Carlton, (fn. 213) and the priory
of Newburgh held 4 oxgangs of land here in
1284–5. (fn. 214) Both houses held property in Sand
Hutton at the Dissolution. (fn. 215)

In 1086 SOWERBY (Sorebi, xi cent.; Soureby,
xiii cent.) was soke of the king's 'manor' of Easingwold and was assessed at 5 carucates. Two of these,
previously held by Orm, must be identical with those
described as belonging to the hall, with a mill
rendering 20s. (fn. 216) The overlordship afterwards formed
part of the fee of Mowbray. (fn. 217) In the early 14th
century a mesne lordship in Sowerby was held by
William de Vescy of Kildare. (fn. 218)

In the 12th century Thomas Lascelles granted the
third part of the vill to Newburgh Priory. (fn. 219) William
Lascelles held land here in 1228 (fn. 220) and was probably
succeeded by a son Ralph, the father of William. (fn. 221)
In 1283 William Lascelles, senior, settled the manor
of Sowerby on himself with remainder to William
de Lascelles, junior. (fn. 222) The latter was succeeded by a
son William, who died a minor in 1304, leaving his
brother John, then aged seven, as his heir. (fn. 223) John
Lascelles was returned as lord of Sowerby in 1316. (fn. 224)
In 1361 William, the son of John Lascelles, paid a fine
for lands in Sowerby which had been forfeited for his
father's part in garrisoning the peel of Northallerton
against the king in 1322. (fn. 225) This William was succeeded
by a son William, (fn. 226) who held the manor. His widow
Joan died in 1418 and their son William was then in
possession. (fn. 227) He was the father of John Lascelles, (fn. 228)
who was seised of the manor of Sowerby at his death
in February 1459–60 and left a son and heir Robert. (fn. 229)
Sir Roger Lascelles, kt., the grandson of Robert, (fn. 230) died
seised of the manor in 1551, and it was then held by his
son Christopher. (fn. 231) Christopher Lascelles represented
Thirsk (fn. 232) in 1555 and the two successive Parliaments.
He was the father of Francis Lascelles, who died
seised of Sowerby Manor in 1572, leaving a son and
heir Thomas, (fn. 233) knighted in January 1599–1600. (fn. 234)
Sir Thomas Lascelles with his son William in 1600
assigned the leasehold premises in the township of
Sowerby to the family of Meynell for 2,000 years
subject to a small annual rent paid in money and
hens. (fn. 235) The manor they sold in 1602 to James
Thwaites, (fn. 236) and shortly after his death in 1603 (fn. 237) it
seems to have been acquired by the Meynells, (fn. 238) and
has since followed the descent of North Kilvington
(q.v.). The present lord of the manor is Mr. Edgar
Meynell of Old Elvet, Durham.

Land in Sowerby was held by the priory of Newburgh. (fn. 239) It was probably acquired before 1247,
when the prior obtained a grant of free warren
here. (fn. 240) At the Dissolution it passed to the Crown;
it was bought by the Lascelles, (fn. 241) and henceforth
followed the descent of the manor.

Churches

The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN consists of a chancel 40 ft.
9 in. by 21 ft. 6 in., nave of equal
width and 84 ft. 10 in. long, north and south aisles
15 ft. 6 in. wide, south porch and a west tower
16 ft. square. These measurements are all internal.

The building is almost wholly of the 15th century,
but part of the west wall of the tower and doubtless
the core of its other walls are of much earlier date,
probably of the 12th century. On either side of the
present arch from the nave are a few springing stones
of the outer order and label of an earlier arch with a
round head. Over these, and seen inside the church,
are the lower weather stones of a former steep-gabled
roof to the nave. In the rebuilding of the fabric the
nave and present tower were evidently the first to be
displaced, beginning with the tower about 1420 and
followed immediately by the rest. That the tower
was finished before the aisles is suggested by the
straight joints formed in the aisle walls by the side
buttresses of the tower, though constructionally it
would be right to make these straight joints even if
all the work were contemporary. The chancel was
added about 1470. The delay in continuing the
rebuilding may probably be accounted for by the
great expense incurred in the construction of a basement below the chancel, necessitated by the shelving
nature of the ground at the east end, a work which
must have swallowed up a large proportion of the
money in hand. What form the chancel arch took
we have now no evidence beyond the note taken
by Sir Stephen Glynne about 1833, (fn. 242) in which he
describes it as low and having been altered. The
present arch is modern. Restorations have been
carried out three times in the last century, in 1844,
1877 and 1899, but much of the original stone work
of the windows and other parts remains.

The partly restored east window of the chancel is
of five cinquefoiled lights under a traceried fourcentred head. On either side of the window inside
are shallow trefoiled image niches. The two side
windows have each three cinquefoiled lights under
traceried four-centred heads; these are all partly
restored. Between the two north windows is a
doorway, with the original 15th-century door, leading
down to the basement chamber. This chamber has
an elliptical vault and is 24 ft. 3 in. in length. It
has an original square-headed window of two lights
in the south wall and a later and larger insertion in
the east wall of three lights under a pointed segmental
head. The room was formerly used as a schoolroom, and now serves as a vestry and parish room.
Below the first south window of the chancel is a
piscina with a cinquefoiled four-centred head. West
of it are three sedilia with cinquefoiled round heads.
The jambs are moulded and the spandrels between
the arches and the cornice are carved with foliage.
Buttresses with moulded offsets topped by somewhat
perished crocketed pinnacles separate and flank the
sedilia. The cornice is embattled and enriched by
carved square flowers. The priest's doorway in the
south wall has a four-centred head and moulded jambs
and label. It has been partly restored. The fourcentred chancel arch is moulded, the inner order
springing from corbel shafts.

The nave arcades are each of six bays. The piers
have four engaged shafts with moulded capitals and
bases separated by hollow chamfers. The arches are
two-centred, each well moulded and with moulded
labels. The two small rolls and hollow on the soffits
of the arches are a peculiar feature. The clearstory
windows are all original, but have been much restored.
There are six on either side, each of three cinquefoiled lights under a traceried four-centred head.

All the aisle windows resemble one another, but
differ from and are earlier in character than those of
the chancel. There is one in each end wall and five
on the north and south, all with three cinquefoiled
lights under traceried two-centred heads, and all more
or less restored. In the east wall of the south aisle
is a moulded image bracket on a corbel carved as an
angel with a shield, and in the south a plain pointed
piscina which served the former side chapel said to
have been dedicated to St. Anne. Both the north and
south doorways, which occupy the fifth of the six
bays, have moulded jambs and two-centred arches of
similar detail. The woodwork of the south doorway
is of original 15th-century date. The large door is
divided into six feathered trefoiled panels with rose
cusp points and tracery over filling the two-centred
head of the door, and is pierced by a small wicket
door with a four-centred head and panelled face.
The back of the door was strengthened in the 18th
century, and on the iron hinges of the wicket is
inscribed 'i bell 1747.' On the back of the wicket
is a large wood lock 20 in. by 10 in., said to have
been formerly on the door in the chancel. On the
large door is also a curious old square padlock.

Inclosing the south doorway is a porch of slightly
later date, which has a room over it originally
entered by a square-headed doorway from the aisle,
now blocked. The present access is by a modern
stair-turret in the north-west corner of the porch.
The room is lighted by windows to the east, south
and west, each of two cinquefoiled lights under a
square head. All are more or less restored. The
pointed outer doorway of the porch is modern. The
porch was originally intended to be vaulted. In the
two south corners are the moulded corbels and springing stones of the moulded ribs, but there are no
answering springers on the aisle wall.

The tower is of three stages with square angle
buttresses of many stages, divided by moulded stringcourses and reaching almost to the parapet string.
The tower arch is similar to the nave arcades, but has
three orders instead of two. There is no west doorway. The west window is old and has three cinquefoiled lights under a traceried two-centred head.
Over the window is a niche with a four-centred
head containing old carved stone figures of the
Blessed Virgin and Child. Above this is a small
light with a plain four-centred head cutting the
moulded string dividing the first and second stages.

The second stage is blank except for a clock dial
towards the south. The third or bell-chamber is
lighted in each wall by a window of three plain ogeeheaded lights under a traceried four-centred head
with moulded label. The parapet of the tower (like
those of the chancel, nave, aisles and porch) is
embattled and pierced by trefoiled openings. Above
the tower parapet were formerly eight pinnacles,
those in the middle being set diagonally. Above the
buttresses which divide the side walls of the chancel,
nave and aisles are pinnacles, those of the chancel
buttresses being set diagonally. In the buttresses against
the east wall of the nave, which rise from and are
flush with the chancel walls, are feathered panels level
with the chancel parapet. At the south-east of the
tower, level with the nave parapet, is a shield charged
with a cross paty.

The low gabled roof of the chancel is of modern
date, in imitation of the more steeply pitched 15thcentury roof of the nave. The latter has open twocentred cradled rafters; the panels formed by the
trusses and purlins are traceried and carved in the
angles, and have carved foliated bosses at their intersections. The trusses rest on modern stone corbels.
The aisle roofs are of similar character and date.

The altar table has legs carved with beasts of
dragon-like appearance holding consoles, also carved
with beasts' heads. The top rail is carved with
shallow ornament with human heads at intervals and
bosses at the corners. All this work is of foreign
appearance, but a lower top rail, inserted later, is of
17th-century workmanship. It has two oval piercings
at the end and strapwork panelling between.

The eastern bay of each aisle is inclosed by restored
screens of 15th-century date. In their upper portions
are open lights with moulded mullions and trefoiled
ogee heads with tracery above. The cornices, which
are carved with foliage, are mostly modern. In the
lower part of the screen facing west in the south aisle
is a moulded and embattled middle rail, with a few
traceried panels below differing from the upper ones,
and more like the old panelled bench-ends, of which
there are several in the south aisle, all with rosetted
cusp points. Standing against the organ, which fills the
end bay of the north aisle, are four tall bench-ends of
early 17th-century date, now made up into two pieces.
The first is carved with a fleur de lis design, and has
at the top a lion passant chained and collared; the
second has a thistle design and at the top a unicorn.
Between the animals is a shield of late form with the
arms, a fesse with a lion over all quartering a bend
with three billets thereon between two roundels.
The first standard of the second piece has a unicorn
with its head defaced, the second nothing; in the
middle a shield bears the arms of Askew with a
pierced molet for difference, impaling three calves'
heads for Metcalfe.

The font is a modern octagonal one of stone with
panelled sides. The tall canopied cover over it has
some 15th-century tabernacle work in its upper part.

In the east window of the south aisle are many
fragments of old glass, much of it collected from other
windows and set here with an admixture of modern
ruby and blue glass regardless of design. In the first
or north light starting from the bottom are an angel
with a shield of France and England and a scroll
bearing the words 'dieu et moun drot,' a crowned
female head, a bearded head, a fragment of an inscribed
scroll with 'Osgodby' in small letters above, two
asses in the borders, a sun, the feathered body of a
headless angel, and an angel with a scutcheon charged
with the arms of Darcy. In the head is canopy
work. At the foot of the middle light is the fragment of an inscription 'Orate pro bono statu . . .
uxoris . . .' (between the last two words is 'Elizabet,'
which apparently does not belong here); above this
a figure of St. Leonard, heads of ladies and tonsured
priests, fragments of small figures of an Annunciation,
the figures (named) of St. Anna and St. Cleophas, and
canopy work with fragments of pinnacles and buttresses on each side, among which are several eagles.
The south light has an angel with the arms of Mowbray, fragments of bearded heads, a head of our Lord,
a winged and feathered angel, an angel with the arms
of Strangways and canopy work. In the tracery is an
angel bearing a shield of Bishop William Askew
(Aiscough) of Salisbury with a mitre or on the fesse;
a shield of Askew, with a crescent for difference; an
angel with a shield of Meynell; another with a shield
Argent three roundels between two bends gules with
a chief sable for Orrell; Askew with the difference of
a molet and pattern of a sun on an oak tree. There
is also a figure of St. Giles and the kneeling figure of
a bishop, probably Askew, with the words 'S[anct]e Egidi
ora pro nobis.' Both are under canopies.

The west window of the north aisle also has
some old heraldic glass in its tracery, among which
are France and England, Askew with a molet, and
the same with a mitre or, both borne by angels;
a sexfoil, a rose, and the figures of St. Catherine and
St. Margaret.

On the clearstory walls are 17th-century paintings
of the Apostles, some of which have had their names
restored. Those on the north side, reading from the
east, are: 1, St. James the Less; 2, St. Jude; 3, St.
Philip; 4, St. Thomas; 5, St. Matthew; on the
south side: 1, St. Andrew with cross; 2, a figure
holding a spear or cross; 3, St. James the Great; the
others are gone. Over the north doorway is a
painting on canvas of the Incredulity of St. Thomas,
by Annibale Caracci, given by Mr. George Anderson
in 1899. In the porch are the fragments of a 13thcentury cross head, probably from a gable.

The only old monument is a defaced brass in the
south aisle to Robert Thresk, rector of Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, who, as the inscription states,
founded a chantry in the church of Thirsk. The
inscription is in two portions, with the half-length
figure of Robert Thresk, supported by angels, between.
Much of it is now illegible, but the portions in
brackets are given on the authority of Dugdale and
Dodsworth. (fn. 243) The upper plate reads: 'hic jacet
Rob'tus Thresk cl'icus nup' Rector Eccl[es]ie de Boseworth [fundator istius cantarie et rememorator
regis in scc'io] qui obiit xvii kl Dece[m]br Ao d[omi]ni
moccccoxix cui' a[n]i[ma]e p[ro]picietur d[eu]s amen.' On the
lower plate are the following hexameters:—

There are eight bells: the treble and second by
Mears & Co., 1871; the third and fourth, the same
founders, 1864; fifth, George Dalton, York, 1775;
sixth, Thomas Mears, 1803; seventh, by Samuel
Smith the younger of York, inscribed 'Voco veni
precare' and dated 1729; the tenor is the wellknown dated pre-Reformation bell and is inscribed
in Gothic capitals, + anno: milleno: quater:
cento: quoque: dec: est hec: camp: ana: jesus.

The plate consists of two cups, two patens, a flagon
and baptismal bowl, all of silver, a pewter flagon and
an electro-plated almsdish. The larger cup is of
1631, with the maker's mark, C.M., for Christopher
Mangey of York; the smaller is inscribed 'Laus Deo,'
and probably belongs to the late 17th century. It
bears the maker's mark R.W. for Robert Williamson
of York. The larger paten is dated 1725, the other
is of Russian workmanship, very ancient, and was
presented by Mrs. Watts of Sowerby. The baptismal
bowl, of German make, is probably of the early 17th
century. The pewter flagon bears no date. The
almsdish and silver flagon are both modern and there
is also a small modern paten.

The registers begin in 1555.

The church of ST. OSWALD at Sowerby consists
of a chancel 18 ft. 3 in. by 17 ft. 9 in., a crossing
with skew passages at the angles and a wooden lantern
over, 18 ft. by 17 ft. 8 in., north and south transepts
26 ft. 11 in. and 27 ft. 3 in. deep respectively, nave
46 ft. 6 in. by 17 ft. 9 in., north aisle 20 ft. 3 in.
wide, and a west tower 9 ft. 3 in. square. These
measurements are all internal.

The church is almost entirely modern, most of it
having been rebuilt between 1840 and 1883, while
the north aisle and vestry were added in 1902.
That there was a building here in the 12th century
is shown by the south doorway, which is a good
example of the work of that period. The semicircular arch is of three orders, the inner one being
moulded with rounds and hollows, the middle one
enriched with beak heads, and the outer order with
the cheveron. The label is chamfered above and
below, and has a carved geometric pattern on its
vertical face. The thickness of the south wall of the
nave and the splayed jambs of the two windows by
which it is pierced suggest that it is of the 12th
century. The only other old work is the lower part
of the tower, which is probably of 15th-century date.
Over the tower arch at the west end of the nave
is a small 12th-century corbel.

There are four bells in the tower, the treble, by
Samuel Smith the younger of York, bearing the
inscription 'Soli Deo Gloria 1729.' The second
and third are by Warner & Sons and were cast in
1883 and 1898 respectively. The fourth is inscribed
'R. Lockwood, Gent., R. Bell, E. Hodgson, Minister,
1678' with foliated ornament.

The plate, which is silver, consists of two cups, a
paten and flagon, and a modern set of vessels. One
cup, bearing the York mark for 1684, is inscribed,
'This plate exchanged in ye yeare 1686 Jo Dynmore
and Ralph Nelson Chappelwardens of Sowerby.' It
bears the maker's mark M.G., for Mark Gill of York.
The paten was presented by the principal inhabitants
of Sowerby in 1830. The second cup and flagon
are also modern.

The registers begin in 1569.

The church of ST. LAWRENCE at Carlton
Miniott, which was rebuilt in 1896, replaces an older
building. It consists of a chancel, nave and north
vestry, and is of brick and stone in the style of the
15th century. The roof is gabled and tiled. Over
the east gable of the nave is a timber bell-turret with
a slated spire, containing one bell.

The plate consists of a silver chalice, paten and
flagon, all of which have the London hall-marks for
the year 1876.

The registers begin in 1706.

The church of ST. LEONARD at Sand Hutton
is a modern building consecrated in 1875 after the
destruction of the older chapel. (fn. 244) It is in the Early
English style, and consists of a chancel, nave, vestry
and south porch. In the south chancel wall is a
15th-century window of two trefoiled lights under a
square head, brought from the old church. Behind
the altar is a modern painted reredos, and the western
bellcote contains one bell. Two water-colour drawings of the interior and exterior of the old church
are preserved in the vestry. They show a small
rectangular structure with a western bellcote having
a two-light east window, probably that still preserved, and several 18th-century openings in the
south wall. The interior had a low-pitched barrel
ceiling.

The plate consists of a silver cup and paten-cover
of 1818, the paten forming a cover for the cup.

The registers begin in 1706.

Advowsons

The church of Thirsk with the
chapel of St. James formed part
of the foundation grant made to
Newburgh Priory by Roger de Mowbray in 1145. (fn. 245)
The church was appropriated in or before 1291, (fn. 246)
and was held by the priory until the Dissolution.
Before that time a vicarage had been ordained, and
in 1545 the rectory and advowson were granted by
the king to Robert Archbishop of York, to whose
successors they have since belonged. (fn. 247) The chapel of
St. James mentioned in 1145 (fn. 248) was destroyed before
1564, when its lands were granted in fee to John
Strowbridge and John Nettylton. (fn. 249)

In the reign of King John William de Mowbray
built a chapel of St. Nicholas in Thirsk. (fn. 250) It was
evidently a building separate from the church, for in
1267–8 Hugh de Burton fled there when accused of
horse-stealing and committed suicide within its walls. (fn. 251)
The conditions imposed at its foundation point to its
being a domestic chapel of the lords of Thirsk. (fn. 252)

In the parish church were various chantries. That
of St. John was 'of the foundation of the Lord
Mowbray' and in the patronage of the lords of the
manor at the Suppression. (fn. 253) The chantry or service
at the altar of our Lady was endowed by 'divers
well-disposed persons' for a priest to assist in divine
service and 'to teach a grammar school within the
said town.' (fn. 254) The chantry of St. Anne was served
by two priests—a 'master' and a 'secondary.' In
1415 Robert Thirsk, the king's clerk, obtained royal
licence to found this chantry for three priests, (fn. 255) and
the work was completed by his executors in 1440. (fn. 256)
Various grants of the lands of this chantry were made
in 1572, 1607 and 1608 (fn. 257); the chantry-house in
Kirkgate appears to have had a separate descent. (fn. 258)

The old churches of St. Lawrence of Carlton
Miniott, St. Mary of Sand Hutton, and St. Oswald
of Sowerby possibly date from an early period, (fn. 259) but
there is no material for their history before the 16th
century. They appear to have belonged to the
priory of Newburgh until the Dissolution, and since
that time the patronage has been uniformly exercised
by the see of York. Although no direct grant of
these churches to the archbishops can be found, they
seem to have been not chapels of ease to Thirsk, (fn. 260)
but independent chapelries (within the ancient parish
of Thirsk) which existed as such from time immemorial, and the curates of which were endowed
with some of the tithes by prescription. The status
of the parish of Sowerby was decided in an action
brought by the incumbent, the Rev. William Dent,
in 1834. (fn. 261) The livings were called curacies or perpetual curacies in the early part of the 19th century, (fn. 262)
but in 1867 Sowerby was declared a vicarage (fn. 263) under
the District Church Tithes Act of 1865, (fn. 264) and the
other two livings are now styled vicarages under the
Act of 1868. (fn. 265) The benefices of Carlton Miniott
and Sand Hutton were held together in the 18th
century, were separated in 1834, and again united in
1888. (fn. 266)

Charities

The following rent-charges were
recorded in the table of benefactions
and are still paid: Henry Davidson,
by will, 1629, 20s. a year, payable out of a farm
called Oldby, Carlton Miniott; Henry Croe, by
will, 1657, 16s. a year out of certain lands called
North Ings, near Thirsk; the Rev. — Midgley,
will, 1692, 15s. a year, out of a close called Bransby
Croft; Richard Wrightson, will, 1725, 2s. a year,
to be given in white bread on Christmas Day, out of
a close called Kell Hill; and an unknown donor's
gift of 10s. yearly due to the poor from the Methodist
meeting-house in Old Thirsk, 1764.

William Wrightson, by will, 1 September 1684, gave
to poor of Thirsk 2 roods of land in Wet Lands, 'to
be disposed yearly for ever every Easter even by the
churchwardens to twelve of the poorest of them out of
the rents thereof.' The rent-charge now amounts
to £1 13s. a year. The several sums and rent are
distributed in money of various amounts to about
twenty poor persons.

Timothy Place, by will, 1810, bequeathed £1,000
consols to the poor, a proportionate part of the
dividends to be laid out in the purchase of bread
amongst the poor not receiving alms from the parish,
with this express condition that such persons should
be regular attendants at divine worship in the church
at Thirsk. The distribution in bread is duly made
together with the income from £201 13s. 7d. consols
left by will of Richard Macpherson, proved in the
Prerogative Court of Canterbury in 1855.

Thomas Durham, by will, 1865, left £100 in aid
of the infants' school, invested in £114 18s. 10d.
consols with the official trustees, who also hold a sum
of £100 North Eastern 4 per cent. stock under deed,
24 October 1906, as a maternity charity, arising
from subscriptions, and £310 East Indian Railway
3½ per cent. stock under a deed, 23 October 1907,
known as the Charlotte Camidge Christmas Gift.

In 1853 Mrs. Ellen West, by will, left £200,
which, owing to deductions for legal expenses, is
now represented by £153 5s. 7d. consols, dividends
to be applied for the benefit of Salem Chapel.

In 1875 R. Pickering settled a sum of £666 13s. 4d.
North Eastern Railway 3 per cent. debenture stock
for Wesleyan ministers in Thirsk circuit. This
charity is administered by the Board of Trustees for
Wesleyan purposes, London.

Township of Sowerby: John Dinmore, by will,
1693, devised 1 a. 1 r. now called the Poor Folks'
Close, the rents to be bestowed at or about Michaelmas
in coals among four of the poorest families or householders of Sowerby. The land is let at £3 a year,
which in 1905 was distributed in coals to twelve
recipients.

In 1721 George Wright, by will, charged land at
Fockwith, in the Ainsty of the city of York, with
£1 a year for the poor. The rent-charge does
not appear to be regularly paid, but was formerly
administered with the preceding charity.

The William and Jonah Waites' endowment for the
minister of the Wesleyan chapel and other purposes
connected therewith was founded by Jonah Waites
by deed dated 2 June 1888, and is administered by
the Board of Trustees for Wesleyan Methodist chapel
purposes. The endowment consists of £1,600
consolidated 2½ per cent. perpetual preference stock
of the Midland Railway Co.; one moiety of the
income is applicable towards the support of the
minister and the other moiety for the support of the
chapel and Sabbath school connected therewith.

Footnotes

1. No mention of Sand Hutton in
Thirsk occurs in the Pop. Ret. of 1831.

15. There was a bridge called 'Watryngham brygge' at Thirsk in the reign of
Henry VIII (Mins. Accts. Hen. VIII,
4546, m. 4 d.). The stone bridge of
Thirsk was repaired in 1595 (Quart. Sess.
Rec. [N. R. Rec. Soc.], iii, 33). A bridge
was swept away in the late 18th century
and a new one built. This was perhaps
the narrow one widened shortly before
1821 (Jefferson, op. cit. 40).

71. Under Stat. 48 & 49 Vict. cap. 23.
At Thirsk Hall are preserved the election
returns of 1695, 1698, 1700, 1705, also
the returns of Sir Thomas Frankland,
bart., and Ralph Bell for 1710 and a
writ of 1717 for the election of a member for the borough in place of Ralph
Bell.

83. One of the family of Stutevill is
believed (though apparently on very slight
foundation) to have married Erneberga,
the daughter and heiress of Hugh son of
Baldric (Massingberd, Hist. of Ormsbycum-Ketsby, 52).

148. Kirkby's Inq. (Surt. Soc.), 104. It
has been suggested (Grainge, op. cit. 87–8)
that Woodhill was the manor held by the
see of York in 1545, and then surrendered
to the Crown (L. and P. Hen. VIII, xx
[1], p. 214; Feet of F. Div. Co. East.
37 Hen. VIII). No evidence for this
identification has, however, been found.

239. Dugdale, Mon. vi, 321; L. and P.
Hen. VIII, xiv (1), p. 47. In 1735 Sir
Thomas Frankland, bart., held land called
a manor in Sowerby. Lady Payne-Frankland of Thirkleby Park is now one of the
chief landowners.